For Gus Malzahn, though, it could determine the tenor of Auburn's offseason.
A loss to a team that's perceived as a "lesser" program to a "Group of Five" school will certainly make things a little less pleasant on the Plains, and that's exactly what the third-year head coach of the Tigers hopes to avoid when he squares off against Memphis out of the American Athletic Conference.
Malzahn will enter the 2016 season on the hot seat, and the outcome of Wednesday's Birmingham Bowl will determine the temperature of that seat between now and next fall.
If he wins, the offseason will be a little more bearable, and the noise in the system will be at a dull roar. If he loses, that 6-7 record will be talked about by boosters and in recruiting circles, and the noise in the system will likely grow to a dull roar after every one of Malzahn's moves is overly scrutinized.
The Tigers were squarely in the mix for the College Football Playoff when the calendar hit November in 2014, but they lost seven of their nine conference games since then, didn't win a home conference game in 2015 and have struggled this year in the one area in which Malzahn is supposed to be invincible—offense.
Auburn finished 10th in the SEC in total offense (367.3 yards per game), 11th in yards per play (5.37), 12th in explosive plays of 20 or more yards (45) and 11th in passing yards per game (175.6 yards per game). Quarterback Jeremy Johnson, who was the talk of the offseason (including from yours truly), was benched after the third game of the season, replaced by Sean White and then reinserted into the lineup over the final month of the season as White battled through injuries.
That won't cut it, the injury to White notwithstanding.
Whoever takes the majority of the snaps in Birmingham, one of the quarterbacks needs to show that he's ready to contend with junior college transfer John Franklin III, who will be the best option Malzahn has if he wants to go with a dual-threat quarterback.
"[White has] been throwing the ball very well. I think the rest he had over the break helped him out," wide receiver Marcus Davis said, according to Charles Goldberg of AuburnTigers.com.
One game is hardly a good enough sample size to indicate that all is well at Auburn, especially since Memphis' defense ranks 116th out of 128 FBS teams in pass defense (269.3 yards per game). What's more, there's been some play-calling that's been a little too cute in the red zone, especially versus Ole Miss and Georgia; the use of running backs Jovon Robinson and Peyton Barber near the end zone has been strange to say the least, and the lack of development of Johnson after two years of work as a backup is an indictment of Malzahn and the entire offensive staff.
But a strong showing from the Auburn offense for the first time all year will at least make the offseason more pleasant for Malzahn.
Make no mistake, though, he's coaching for his job in 2016, which is going to be a challenge in and of itself.
The Tigers open with ACC champ and College Football Playoff participant Clemson in Auburn on Sept. 3, host Texas A&M and LSU later in September and have the typically daunting draw of Georgia and Alabama—both on the road—in November.
Auburn has recruited too well under Malzahn (and before) to be an average SEC West team. He's reeled in a top-10 recruiting class in each of the last three recruiting cycles, has the depth needed to compete for division and national titles, and has momentum going on the recruiting trail despite a bungled search for a defensive coordinator that has seen Florida State's Charles Kelly and South Florida's Tom Allen get on and fall off the radar.
Another year of mediocrity isn't—and shouldn't—be tolerated.
Proving that the 2016 team won't be mediocre starts on the next-to-last day of 2015 in the Birmingham Bowl.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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